Takedown metal bow handle



June 10, 1952 H. F. LAKE. ET AL 2,600,250

. TAKEDOWN METAL BOW HANDLE Filed July 26, 1947 :Ti z-Erz 2 E175 flaeer E 1 C4 HEENC'E Mean-e e/ws Patented June 10, 1952 TAKEDOWN METAL BGVV HANDLE Harry FL Lake and Clarence W. Grimes,,Pontiac,

Mich;- said Lake assignor to said Grimes" Application July =26, 1947, Serial nmeaezs 1 Claim. (01. 124-44) The present invention relates toa bow used-in the practice of archery and more-particularly to a metal bow which may be taken down for easy transportation.

Bows used in the practice of archery and in hunting vary in length from five to'six -feet and require from eighteen to eightypounds of pull to properly: dischargean arrow. A novice begins by practicingwith' a bow requiring-about a 30-40 pound pull: and progresses-to a:50-50 pound pull bow as his strength and skill increase. Bows have been commonly made of wood,-such as yew, osage orange, lemonwood and lance wood. The bows are usuallymade in one-piece or'oi continuous wooden laminae and due to their length; are awkward to handle when not in use. Bows made of wood are hand-madeand consequently expensive. Wooden bows are'also' sensitive to heat andmoisture, and the performance of: a given bow may vary with the weather. Due to the construction of wooden bows a broken limb cannot be replaced,- and the entire bow-must be discarded.

Bowshave .been made of. .sepa-rate .piecesof wood connectedby metallic sleeves; the construc-' tion being similar to that of a fishing rod. The wooden portions of the bow are subject to all the faults of the wooden bow. Also, it has been difflc'ult 'toobtain an even distribution of 'force along the limbs ofsuch bows when under tension. Consequently,ithese jointed bows are notso accurate as wooden bows and have not been gen-- erally accepted.

In accordance with. the present invention we provide a metal bowiwhich may 'be takendown into three units for transportation; The bow of the present invention'is' less expensive' and' more accurate than the conventional wooden bow. Thebow as herein'provided is constructed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy,. an aluminummagnesium alloy, of other light'-.alloy." The alloy may be anodized or 'otherwisetreated. A bow construction of such an alloy will be unaffected by moisture or varying weather conditions: The metallic construction of the boweliminatesmuch of the expensive hand-work necessarynnfth'e preparation of conventional wooden bows. 1 If one of the-limbs of thebow should break theuser may replace it'with a new limb retaining the rest of the bow. Also a beginner may purchase one bow and merely replace the limbs with limbs requiring a greater amount of pull as his skill and strength increase. The bow 'isequipped with a sighting device to aid in obtaining accuracy; The bow construction permits the discharge of the arrow from a point closer to the centeroi the bow than with theconventionaltype oibow. In the conventional type of bow construction-the longitudinal axis of the arrow is actuallyat-a slight angle to the path-of the 'stringas itis re-- leased; The archer must compensate for thedifference in direction between the line'offlight of the arrow and the path of the releasedbow string. In the use of the present bowthe arrow is so positioned on the bow that the angle big-- tween the line of flight of the arrow andthepatli of the released bow stringis' diminished, thus increasing the accuracy of the bow. V V The bow of the present invention-comprises two limbs detachably mounted to an-intermediate handle portion. Each of the limbs-is attached to the handle by means of a'pair ofscrews extending through the handle; and the limbs. When the limbs are-detached fromthe-handle. the longest portion of thebowis approximately 28" long,- or less than one-half the length of a comparable woodenbow. v 7 p The handle of the bow comprisesa centralgrip portion, a sighting device, and a-recess into which the arrow fits when the bow string is' drawn.-- The grip portion of the handle consists of a hollow casting of alight metal or alloy as above described shaped to comfortably fit the hand when the bow is gripped by the archer; The-gripmay be wrapped with a non-metallicmaterial such as leather, cloth, etc. The hollow portion of: the handle lessens the weightof-the bow and improves the balanced the bow; The hollow por-' tion of the grip may be filled with a lightnonmetallic'substance, such as corkyor it-may be left empty as the archer desires. The sighting device used in aiming the bow consists'of an -adjustable slide mounted on'astrip-of metal-ex tending vertically from the upper portion-of the handle when the bow is held'in normal operating position; The adjustable slide carries. asmall sphere mounted on a rod,- which extends horizontally from the slide. The rod may be-adjusted-i'n the slide to compensate for-the wind drift ot the arrow during flight. The rod may be inserted in either side of the slide to accommodate-either rightor left-handed archers; The handle portion is indented along the line of flightof the arrow above the grip portionof-the handle to pro.- vide clearance for the arrow. An indentation is provided on either'side of the bowtoacoommodate rightor left-handed-archers; The-inden tations in the handle portionofthe bowfare provided with projections which form asupport for the arrow when it is fitted -to-the' string-.-: The

projections are of segmental circular shape or of any other shape which will provide a minimum area of contact with the arrow. The indented handle portion together with the projection provide a path of flight for the arrow which closely approximates the path of the released string, thus increasing the accuracy of the bow as explained above.

The limbs of the bow are formed from a light metal or alloy of substantially rectangular cross section. Each limb is tapered in width from the base, which fits into the handle portion, to the tip which is of conventional design. Each of the limbs is of the same thickness throughout its entire length. The simple and eflicient design of th limbs, employing the rectangular cross section and uniform thickness as above described, allows their manufacture from inexpensive standard alloy strip with a minimum of machining and finishing. Each limb is removably attached to the handle portion of the bow by means of screws which extend through the handle portion and base of th limb. The amount of taper is proportional to the thickness of the limb in order to obtain an even distribution of stress throughout the limb. Thus the taper of a quarter inch limb is greater than the taper of a 1% inch limb. The weight of the bow or the amount of force necessary to draw the string to the rear is proportional to the thickness and taper of the limbs. The archer may change the weight of his bow, by merely replacing the limbs with limbs of difierent dimensions. The limbs are interchangeable and the same handle portion may be used. Thus the novice may increase the weight of his bow at little expense.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide an efiective handle member for a metal bow which may be taken down for easy transportation.

It is another important object of the present invention to provide a weather-resistant bow comprising interchangeable limbs and handle formed of a light weight metal or alloy which bow may be taken down into its component parts to provide ease of transportation.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claim.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a bow mad in accordance with this invention showing the bow assembled and strung ready for use;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the bow of Figure 1 showing the bow unassembled and unstrung;

Figure 3 is an enlarged broken front elevational view of the bow showing the handle portion of the bow of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, broken, side elevational view showing the handle portion of the bow and the method of attachment of the limbs to the handle; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line V--V'of Figure 4.

Reference numeral it refers generally to a bow made in accordance with this invention comprising a handle portion ll limb portions 12 and bow string l3. The limb portions i2 are attached to the handle portion l i by Allen screws 14 which extend through holes l5 in the laterally flared terminals of the handle portion II and holes 16 in the limb portions [2.

The handle portion H consists of grip portion l'lfindented portion l8 and sight assembly I9.

The centrally located grip portion ll consists of leather covering 20 wound spirally around the grip l'l encasing the hollow portion 2| thereof. The void 2| is elliptical in shape to conform to the generally ellipsoidal curvature of the grip portion l1 and to provide a maximum cut-out area consistent with the necessary strength. The void 2| is packed with cork to give the bow less weight and greater balance than would have been possible had the grip portion been cast as a solid member.

The handle portion H above the grip I1 is laterally indented to form a narrow portion i la. The narrow portion ila is elongated as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 to avoid weakening the handle portion H at this point. Elongated indentations 22 are provided on either side of the narrow portion Ila for a purpose to be described later. Semi-cylindrical projections 23 are mounted in the indentations 22 on the shoulders 24 formed by the abrupt constriction of the handle portion H to form the narrow portion Ha. The projections 23 carry depending protuberances 25 which fit snugly into recesses in the shoulders 24 thus rigidly mounting the projections 23 thereon. An arrow 3| fitted to the bow string I3, is held in shooting position in the indentation 22 by the side I; of narrow portion lid to rest on the projection 23. The purpose of the indentation 22 is to allow th discharge of the arrow 3| from a position closely approximating the center of the handle portion ll. Thus, the angle between the path of the arrow and the path of th released bow string is decreased, thereby increasing the accuracy of the bow as above-described. The arrow 3| remains in contact with the narrow portion at Ill) and with the projection 23 until the arrow 31 leaves the bow l0 entirely. The surface lib and the projection 23 steady the initial flight of the arrow and further increase the accuracy of the bow. The semi-cylindrical upper surface of the projection 23 provides adequat support for the arrow 3| without excessive friction and consequent loss of velocity. The presence of an indentation 22 and a projection 23 on either side of the narrow portion Ha makes possible the use of the bow by both right and left-handed archers.

The sighting device I9 comprises an upright metal member 26 rigidly attached to the handle portion ii and extending from the handle portion parallel to and in spaced relation with the upper limb l2 when'the bow is held in normal operating position. The metal member 26 carries an adjustable slide 21 which is equipped with a small sphere 28 mounted on a rod 29. The rod 29 extends laterally past the edge of the limb so that the sphere 28 is visible to the archer. The slide 21 is adjustably attached to the metal strip 26 so that it may be moved along the strip 26 to compensate for range diiierences. The slide 2'! may be calibrated by the individual archer so that he may obtain greater accuracy in the use of the bow. The rod 29 may be moved in the slide 2'! to compensate for wind drift. The rod 29' is removable from the slide 21 for insertion from the other side of the slide 21. In this way the sphere 28 may be positioned above an arrow inserted on either side of the narrow portion Ila, thus adapting the bow for the use by either rightor left-handed persons with the same degree of accuracy for both.

Each of the limb portions 12 of the bow I0 is tapered in width from the base portion which fits into the handle portion H to the tip 30 to obtain the proper distribution of stress throughout the entire length of the limb. As hereinbefore described the base portion of each of the limbs I2 is provided with holes 16 drilled therein to receive screws l4 which removably attach the limb l2 in endwise opening slots in the handle portion II. The tips 30 are notched in the conventional manner to receive the bow string [3. The tip 39 has a reverse curvature which causes the bow string l3 to lie along a portion of the limb [2. This contact between the bow string [3 and the limb [2 serves to dampen the vibration of the bow string l3 and to decrease the noise made by the sudden release of the bow string [3. This reduction of noise is very useful where the bow of the present invention is to be used for hunting purposes. Each of limbs [2 of the bow I0 is substantially rectangular in cross section and of substantially the same thickness throughout its entire length. The weight, or the amount of pull necessary to properly discharge an arrow from the bow, is determined by the thickness and taper of the limb portion l2. The taper of the limb is proportional to the thickness of the limb, the variation of the taper being necessary to obtain an equal stress throughout the entire length of the limb. The bow I0 may be taken apart for transportation, storage or replacement of a broken limb by simply removing the screws l4 and lifting the limbs I2 from the handle portion ll.

Thus it may be readily seen that we have provided a bow having interchangeable limbs which may be taken down into its component parts when not in actual use. The bow of this invention is more accurate, more economical, and lighter in weight than wooden bows of conventional design.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

That which we claim is:

In a symmetrical take down bow for right and left handed use, an integral handle member comprising a handgrip of generally ellipsoidal curvature for anatomic conformity to a gripping hand, a laterally flared terminal portion extending endwise of one end of said handgrip and having a limb receiving slot opening endwise of said handle member, allochiral shoulder portions flared laterally of the other end of said handgrip, a narrow portion extending endwise centrally from said shoulder portions and having elongated lateral surfaces, projections carried by each of said shoulder portions in extended laterally spaced relation to said elongated lateral surfaces, said projections each having a semicylindrical upper surface to serve with the adjacent elongated surface as an arrow guideway, and a second terminal portion extending endwise from and flared laterally of said narrow portion in confronting relation to said shoulder portions to define allochiral indentations in said handle member, said second terminal portion having a limb receiving slot opening endwise of said handle member.

HARRY F. LAKE. CLARENCE W. GRINES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 348,860 Newbury Sept. 7, 1886 982,748 Setchell Jan. 24, 1911 1,564,089 Maxwell Dec. 1, 1925 1,847,593 Cameron Mar. 1, 1932 1,926,845 Folberth et al. Sept. 12, 1933 2,000,832 Fisher May 7, 1935 2,100,317 Hickman Nov. 30, 1937 2,163,503 Tate June 20, 1939 2,294,052 Springer Aug. 25, 1942 2,423,765 Folberth et al July 8, 1947 

